<graphic> Graphic

Description of and pointer to an external file containing a still image.

Usage/Remarks

The external file associated with a <graphic> holds a picture, illustration, etc., and is usually some form of binary object. The “content” of the <graphic> element (if any) is not the object itself, but merely information about the object and a pointer to an external file. The external file that contains the object is named by the @xlink:href attribute.

Graphic versus Figure

It is considered Best Practice to tag unlabeled graphics (no label such as “Figure 4.”) as <graphic> elements, rather than as <fig> elements. A common test to determine whether an object is a <fig> versus a <graphic> is to ask, “If there were a List of Figures for this document, should this object appear in that list?”

Graphic versus Media

Although this Tag Set cannot enforce it, the element <graphic> should be limited to still images. The element <media> should be reserved for objects that involve video, audio, moving images, time-dependent graphical types, and other non-XML data types. Such external objects should take a @mimetype, when possible.

Put Display Components at Highest Level Possible

Display component elements, such as <caption>, should always be used at the highest possible level; in other words, if a <graphic> element is inside a <fig> element, the <caption>, <long-desc>, etc., should be part of the <fig>, not part of the <graphic> element. Use a <caption> element (and similar display component elements) on a <graphic> only when the graphic is not enclosed in any other structure or when a figure contains multiple graphics, each of which must have its own <caption>.
For similar reasons, the @position attribute should be set to “anchor” for a <graphic> element contained inside a larger display container such as a <fig>.

Accessibility

For Best Practice, a <graphic> that is not inside a <fig> or <table-wrap> should contain both <alt-text> and <long-desc>, which are especially important to enable access for visually impaired users. For graphics inside another element (such as a <fig>), the containing element typically holds the accessibility elements, although in rare cases the accessibility elements may need to be used in both places. For usage notes and recommendations, see Accessibility.
Anchoring Graphics (@position)
Although the @position attribute of this element may be used to indicate whether this element must be anchored at its exact location within the text or it may float, it is good practice to anchor all loose graphics. All the graphics inside figures, tables, etc., should be anchored as well, although the outer structure (figure, boxed text) may be allowed to float.
Related Elements
Basic Non-text Elements — This Suite contains several elements that can describe and point to non-textual content: <graphic>, <inline-graphic>, <media>, and <inline-media>. These elements appear in the flow of the document, and the material they describe and point to is assumed to be integral to the document, unless flagged with the @supplemental attribute. “Integral” means that the object is logically necessary to the content of the document, although stored as an external file.
The elements <graphic> and <inline-graphic> contain a pointer to a still image (such as a photograph, diagram, line drawing, etc.). The elements <media> and <inline-media> contain a pointer to a non-textual object (typically a binary such as an audio clip, dataset, or animation that cannot be displayed in print)
Supplementary Material — In contrast to the four non-textual elements just described, <supplementary-material> and <inline-supplementary-material> always describe and point to objects that are considered to be “supplementary” (non-integral) to the content of the article.
Attributes

Base Attributes

Namespaces

Models and Context
May be contained in
Description
The following, in order:
Content Model
<!ELEMENT  graphic      %graphic-model;                              >
Expanded Content Model

((object-id)?, (alt-text | long-desc)*, (legend)*, (xref)*, (custom-meta-group)*, attrib?, (permissions)*)

Tagged Samples
In <fig>
... 
<fig id="f1" orientation="portrait" position="float">
 <graphic xlink:href="f1"/>
 <attrib>Brookhaven National Laboratory</attrib>
</fig>
...
... 
<fig id="f8" orientation="portrait" position="float">
 <caption>
  <p>Time difference between events F and A as a function of the 
   length of entering plug for bifurcations B to BXXX, where X stands 
   for 0 or 1.</p>
 </caption>
 <graphic orientation="portrait" position="float" xlink:href="f8"/>
</fig>
...
With <object-id> and <alt-text>
...
<sec sec-type="results">
 <title>Results</title>
 <p>We identified 703 abstracts, of which 687 were 
  not relevant ... Details of randomisation procedures,
  treatment schedules, and numbers of patients followed
  up are given on the <italic>BMJ</italic> website.</p>
 <fig id="F1">
  <caption>
   <title>Deaths among patients receiving day hospital care
    or alternative services.</title>
   <p>Odds ratios of death by end of follow up were calculated by 
    fixed effects model. Heterogeneity between trials is presented as
    χ<sup>2</sup></p>
  </caption>
  <alt-text>Deaths in hospitals or with alternative services</alt-text>
  <graphic xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"
    xlink:href="fors2662.f1">
   <object-id>456472</object-id>
  </graphic>
 </fig>
 ...
</sec>
...
<body>
... 
<body>
 <graphic specific-use="online" position="anchor" 
   xlink:href="prodbe.int.aip.org:8080/journal/journal_fs/
   1.2983775.1373315697!/images/1460725790.jpg"/>
 ...
</body>
...
Table cells
... 
<table-wrap id="t14">
 ...
 <table frame="box" rules="all" cellpadding="5"> 
  ...
  <tr valign="bottom">
   <td align="left" colspan="1" rowspan="1">3</td>
   <td align="char" char="." charoff="35%" colspan="1" rowspan="1">14.4411</td>
   <td align="center" colspan="1" rowspan="1">
    <graphic id="g14" orientation="portrait" position="anchor" xlink:href="d14"/></td>
   <td align="char" char="." charoff="35%" colspan="1" rowspan="1">14.4411</td>
   <td align="center" colspan="1" rowspan="1">
    <graphic id="g15" orientation="portrait" position="anchor" xlink:href="d15"/></td>
   <td align="char" char="." charoff="35%" colspan="1" rowspan="1">14.4414</td>
   <td align="center" colspan="1" rowspan="1">
    <graphic id="g16" orientation="portrait" position="anchor" xlink:href="d16"/></td>
   <td align="char" char="." charoff="35%" colspan="1" rowspan="1">14.4414</td>
   <td align="center" colspan="1" rowspan="1">
    <graphic id="g17" orientation="portrait" position="anchor" xlink:href="d17"/></td>
  </tr>
 </table>
</table-wrap>  
...
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